Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
This is the first book I’ve ever written! I’m originally from New York but currently reside in the Portland, Oregon area with my family. We call moving out west our “quality of life upgrade”.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Rose the cat-dog was inspired by the first dog my wife and I ever adopted together, and the first dog either one of us ever adopted as adults. If you googled what to look for in a rescue dog, Rose was the exact opposite! She came from a puppy mill and was very emotionally unavailable as a result. She just never learned to do dog-like things. We called her a cat-dog instead because of her quirky, feline behavior. The idea for the book came about when I began to wonder how Rose would react to the birth of our first (human) baby. I kept imagining Rose trying to do all of these “real” dog things to be a good dog for her new little human sister and failing miserably along the way. It just made me laugh out loud and I started writing. Of course, Rose does get to be the hero at the end.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Like taking 12 years to finish? I would write down ideas whenever they came to me on my phone, on scraps of paper, in emails. Eventually I bought an old black and white notebook and wrote everything down, sketching ideas for drawings along the way.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve always loved books that were very self-aware. The characters know they are living through bizarre events and, althoug they may be earnest in their efforts, realize that reality is something they make up along the way.
What are you working on now?
Rose the cat-dog is just the first book in an extended series where all of our family members get starring roles. So you will see Rose again – and again and again – but it will be sometime before she takes center stage again.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Instagram. Don’t forget to follow @rosethecatdog!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Stay true to yourself, find an artist that supports your vision if you are doing an illustrated children’s book like I did, and hustle, hustle, hustle.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Control yourself, tolerate frustration and be kind to others.
What are you reading now?
Not much time to do that between my full-time day job, taking care of two young kids, and trying to get the book out into the world.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Making sure Rose’s story gets into as many little hands as possible.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
That’s such a tough question! If I had to pick, I would say (in no particular order) (1) Farthest North by Fridtjof Nansen, (2) Walden by Henry David Thoreau, (3) A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn, and (4) the complete Walking Dead collection.